Another Side of the Nydia Tisdale Story

I wrote a post this morning that illustrated how the same event could be interpreted in different ways, depending on who was telling the story. Here’s another, perhaps better case.

On Monday, FetchYourNews.com published the story of how Nydia Tisdale was arrested after she was asked to stop filming a Republican campaign event at Burt’s Pumpkin Farm in Dawson County. The story (complete with video of the occurrence) painted Tisdale as a citizen journalist who was badly mistreated, and whose arrest should embarrass anyone who values the first amendment.

The FYN story and video was relayed by the AJC’s Political Insider, and drew a press release denouncing Governor Deal from the Jason Carter gubernatorial campaign.

Watching this, and a similar sympathetic reaction on social media, I posted on Facebook, “Nydia Tisdale is becoming a martyr. That’s exactly what she wanted to be, and it’s a shame.”

“I told [Sheriff’s Capt. Tony Wooten], ‘Have her cut the recorder off.’ He went up to her and she refused,” Burt said. “Then I told him to get her out. He asked to her leave politely, very politely, and she refused to leave. So he had no choice but to forcefully remove her.

“She tried to hit Tony with the camera and he had to remove the camera from her hand and she slapped him in the face and I saw that. Tony only done what he was asked to do by the property owner and that was me.”

Had she cooperated with the request to stop recording, Burt said she could have stayed.

“If she had in the least cooperated, just cut her camera off, and sat there through the meeting and asked all the questions she wanted to at the end, it would have perfectly fine. But she misrepresented herself to start with,” he said.

This year, I’ve had the opportunity to interact with many political trackers. Every time we would ask one to turn off his or her camera, it was turned off. And I’ll say that I fully support Tisdale’s right to record a public meeting.

Did Tisdale have the right to film the event, given it was billed as open to the public? In the DawsonNews story, Sheriff Billy Carlisle clarified the property owner has the right to eject a guest, even at a public event.

One way to avoid situations like this is to set ground rules for media coverage well before the event starts. And, that’s what the Forsyth County Republican Party has done. In an ironic bit of timing, the party published its new media policy on Tuesday. It’s very well done, defining how meetings are defined to be open to the press, defining what constitutes the press, and specifying how to obtain media credentials to cover an open event. It can serve as a model for other party organizations to adopt.

Even better, the party announced it would be making its own videos of events and posting them on YouTube. That will provide transparency, and eliminate the possibility of doctored or heavily edited video being the only record of an event.

And, I bet Nydia Tisdale would not have received media credentials under the party’s new policy.

Either allow anyone to report what they see, hear or record, or don’t allow anyone at all. The idea of defining media and who can do what is silly in my opinion.

We preach about deregulation and yet we are only adding hoops for media to jump through. You watch — there’ll be a day when an AJC reporter or someone forgot to fill out their credential form and we’ll hear more about how the GOP is hiding something.

PS, that FCGOP media policy says in part:
“The FCGOP will always have a single designated individual to serve as the principle [sic] communicator between the media and the organization. This person, unless specified for select purposes, will be the duly elected Chair of the organization. As defined by the organization bylaws and any other rules governing the organization, only this individual may speak officially for the FCGOP. Any other member approached for comment will automatically refer said individuals and organizations to the designated spokesperson.”

So, what, any attendee at FCGOP, if approached by media, should zip their lip and point to the chair? The way this is written, if a reporter approaches just anyone and asks for their opinion, they have to defer to the chair.

FWIW, that’s been the policy in Gwinnett for years, written into the party’s rules. Only the Chairman has the right to say, “The party believes red widgets are better than blue ones.”

If a media person approaches a FCGOP member and asks, “What is the party’s position on…,” they should defer to the chair. On the other hand, if the person is asked, “What do you think about blue widgets,” he or she is free to offer an opinion.

If someone really wants to film an event regardless of whatever regulations are posted, they will film the event. It’s not that hard to hide a camera these days. Tell the truth, state your reasons for running and be damn glad somebody cares enough to record your truthful statements. If you can’t handle an individual lady with a personal camera, good luck dealing with real media.

Nobody is required to follow an illegal order from a police officer. Here is a passage from the relevant federal law:

“42 U.S. Code § 2000aa -” Searches and seizures by government officers and employees in connection with investigation or prosecution of criminal offenses”

Notwithstanding (in spite of) any other law (Georgia property rights), it shall be unlawful for a government officer or employee, in connection with the investigation or prosecution of a criminal offense, to search for or seize any work product materials possessed by a person reasonably believed to have a purpose to disseminate to the public a newspaper, book, broadcast, or other similar form of public communication, in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce”
———————————————
The Privacy Protection Act is something a lot of people don’t even know about. You can’t even touch a camera being used by a working journalist without a subpoena…not just a warrant, a full on subpoena, unless you’re 100 percent certain it’s either been used in the commission of a crime or has specific evidence of a crime and you are certain it will be erased. It sets a very high standard. If this case isn’t dropped quickly, then every journalist has a reason to fear arrest.
——————————————-
According to a law passed by the US Congress last year, Nydia is considered to be a journalist, This act puts it like this “work product materials possessed by a person reasonably believed to have a purpose to disseminate to the public a newspaper, book, broadcast, or other similar form of public communication, in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce;” They use the “interstate or foreign commerce clause to make it something the feds can do. Given that her internet site reaches a worldwide audience, Nydia is good to go.
——————————————-
Dawson County News — “Sheriff’s Capt. Tony Wooten, who was at the event in his official capacity, made the arrest. [Organizers] had requested that we have an officer presence there at the event for security and that’s what he was there for, Sheriff Billy Carlisle said.”
(Capt. Tony Wooten was acting in his capacity as a “government officer”)

Ms. Tisdale’s camera was seized by the Dawson County Sheriff’s Department. Let’s hope the video of the event and incident weren’t deleted as the camera and audio were probably on during the arrest.

Hey Relentless. I see you are a big government guy by citing national laws. Can you help me. I am reading the U.S. Constitution and cannot find where it gives the federal government the power to tell states they cannot make their own videotape laws?

So will the sheriff do the dirty work of ejecting people with a camera on every pumpkin patch in the county or just this one? I mean was Deal/Burt/Ga GOP paying for the deputy to be there as private security or …

Yeah but this just rubs me the wrong way. I’m hosting a public POLITICAL event that anyone can come to BUT I’m going to have a police officer there and I get to direct them who actually can and can’t come to my event? And they’re just going to do eject people for me?

So basically the police in N Ga will do the bidding of the Republican party but the police here in DeKalb will do the bidding of the Democratic party?

And if you DID hire such an officer, they should arrive out of uniform ready to work.

You, I or anyone else should not be able to, for ANY amount of money, appropriate the power of posse comitatus in a private way.

When a LEO is on duty, they have a chain of command that does not include Mr. Burt or the local Walmart Manager. They (should) make decisions based on training, knowledge of the law, and their own observations. I would like to know what this officer thinks that this woman was doing in violation of the law – without referencing Mr. Burt’s directions. Mr. Burt has no more power to direct law enforcement than I do, even if they are on his property. The officer was not following the law, he was following the wishes of a private citizen that happened to align with his own whims.

He abused the powers of his office at the request of Mr. Burt. He should lose his badge and face charges for assault.

That nice little move he was pulling at the end of the video has been told to me by LEOs I’ve spoken to while discussing MMA – “You are still resisting, and that is why I’m going to crank this arm bar even harder.” Of course she’s resisting, idiot. That resistance you feel is her body attempting to protect her radial ligament.

The laws on officers wearing their uniforms while working “extra jobs” varies by jurisdiction. For example, the way I understand it in Atlanta is that when working an “extrajob” in the City the APD officer is to wear their uniform, they also have to call into dispatch and let them know they are on an extra job (one part to keep track that officers are not working too many hours at extra jobs) so that if there is an emergency in the area that they can respond to help. A cop is always on duty. If a Dekalb Co Officer is working an extra job in Atlanta then they wear street clothing (not uniform).

I don’t know the jurisdictional regs for this area, but it is very possible that having a paid off duty uniformed law enforcement guy there was perfectly legal and that in such capacity he could act and have the responsibilities of an on-duty officer. Though the complete opposite could be true as well.

She was asked to leave private property. She didn’t. When the LEO told her to leave private property, she resisted. At that point, the LEO did what every LEO would do in the state and at any other venue, arrest her for criminal trespass. Normally, you get a ticket but since she hit the officer they weren’t going to let that go.

The reason for no-video is to discourage attention seeking hecklers, showboats, and protesters from using your campaign event to their advantage.

Mrs. Tisdale accepted an invitation to an event advertised as open to the public three days in advance, and arrived very early to get the best seat. She is a well-known videographer among public official and arrived carrying her video camera. She spoke with Mrs. Burt about her purpose and her history of filming public officials such as Governor Deal and posting the videos on YouTube.

If there were objections to her presence, and/or, if recording or videotaping was not allowed at the event, why were the issues never addressed to her and/or to all attendees during the ample interval between her arrival and Commissioner Hudgens’ comment targeting Mrs. Tisdale?

Contrary to inferences made in Michael Silver’s comment, her behavior was not disruptive, she was not heckling anyone or holding up any protest signs. Mr. Burt’s contention that “she misrepresented herself to start with,” is disingenuous. At least one other journalist was present and taping the event; why wasn’t this journalist instructed to turn off their equipment or removed?

Had Mrs. Tisdale chosen to attend the public event as a private citizen, there would be no need for media credentials and more specifically under the FCGOP’s newest exercise to define/oppress the media to their benefit; she simply could have used a smart phone to record it all. Had she chosen to “misrepresent” her purpose, she could have employed any surreptitious method to achieve it.

Surely it cannot be within the power of the FCGOP to circumvent or append Federal Law as to what constitutes the press? If so, God help us all! But, nevertheless, you should be okay, just as long as you “cooperate”. Their protestations and attempts to mask such mean-spirited behavior are hollow.

It is certainly not evident that Mrs. Tisdale suggests or idealizes she is becoming a martyr. The martyrdom theory has been brought Mr. Richards who wishes to diminish the callous and inappropriate treatment of an invited guest and allowed by those who seek to be our leaders–as damage control or an attempt to ‘spin’, if you will, the inexcusable actions back around to their favor. If Mrs. Tisdale will be thought of as a martyr, it will be due first to the blatant disregard and manhandling of an invited private citizen/videographer and then to the shameless attempts to disparage and vilify her.

Plain and simple, the treatment of Mrs. Tisdale was arrogant, detestable, and screams that jack-booted thugs ran amok, lawlessly imposing their way or the highway. What Sherriff’s Captain Wooten did was illegal.

So, if removal of Mrs. Tisdale from the Burt’s’ Farm event was clearly on the up-and-up, why has Sherriff’s Captain Wooten been suspended?

Officers get suspended all the time while their chain of command investigate. Suspension isn’t a determination of guilt. Its part of the investigative process of claims that may or may not have merit.

The simple fact is that she resisted the officers commands. If any of us resist a LEO, it will end badly for us. I tell gun-totters all the time, when asked to leave by a property owner or LEO, LEAVE!

You have no rights to remain on private property, regardless whether its BestBuy or a political event. They own the property and you are a guest with no rights….. and the First Amendment doesn’t give anyone the right to trespass on private property.

If this was a public building or park, then she’d have a strong argument about violation of the 1st Amendment and her rights of access on public property.

So all constitutional freedoms end at the property lines? So any persons rights can be suppressed by man-handling by a public policeman acting for the interests of the well connected until you slip up? Gee, and I thought you guys were against big government.

I mostly agree, except for one critical/pivotal difference. Wooten needed to clearly identify himself as a LEO acting on behalf of the owner. Being out of uniform, walking up behind someone and not fully gaining their attention before going hands-on was his mistake. See GA Code 16-7-21 below:

“……Remains upon the land or premises of another person……after receiving notice from the owner, rightful occupant, or, upon proper identification, an authorized representative of the owner or rightful occupant to depart.”

Proper notification is the key here. That did not take place, or we would have heard it on the video. I do hear some quiet chatter, but frankly that’s just not good enough. He could/should have stood right in front of her and identified himself, even though it would have been slightly disruptive to the speaker. I can tell you if someone walked up behind me and got physical without cause and without plainly identifying him/herself as LEO, I’d instinctively go into defensive mode. That’s why they teach, “POLICE! DON’T MOVE!” and “STOP RESISTING!”

Citizens are allowed to disobey unlawful orders or resist unlawful arrest. As a LEO, he should know police procedure and how to handle trespassers. Just because he’s on Mr. Burt’s payroll doesn’t give him the authority to violate citizens’ rights. Sure, she’s an activist, but she’s still a citizen.

Please stop this nonsense. Nydia Tisdale is more real media than most of the mainstream media today. See goes to all kinds of government meetings and posts the proceedings on her Youtube channel and website. She is doing a better job than a lot of so called mainstream media

In the Internet Age where Everyone has a Smartphone with a builtin Video Camera and the ability to upload content to Youtube, WE ARE ALL REPORTERS. We don’t need any main stream media. They are just serving their owner managers for the most part. .

“Nydia Tisdale is more real media than most of the mainstream media today. See goes to all kinds of government meetings and posts the proceedings on her Youtube channel and website. She is doing a better job than a lot of so called mainstream media”

While inviting the public to attend an event/function/business/offering/viewing does the property owner retain the right to ask someone to change some behavior or leave their property regardless of how absurd someone else thinks it is ?
Yes
This may not exclude the owner from some legal redress for their actions if the eviction broke a law or harmed the evicted.
IANAL

‘(1) Enters upon the land or premises of another person or into any part of any vehicle, railroad car, aircraft, or watercraft of another person for an unlawful purpose;

(2)Enters upon the land or premises of another person or into any part of any vehicle, railroad car, aircraft, or watercraft of another person after receiving, prior to such entry, notice from the owner, rightful occupant, or, upon proper identification, an authorized representative of the owner or rightful occupant that such entry is forbidden;

(3) Remains upon the land or premises of another person or within the vehicle, railroad car, aircraft, or watercraft of another person after receiving notice from the owner, rightful occupant, or, upon proper identification, an authorized representative of the owner or rightful occupant to depart. ‘

Enters…prior. Anyone who has ever owned rental property in GA can tell you how hard it is to prosecute for Trespass without evidence of damage. Mr. Burt can ask her to leave, he can even make her leave be rescinding invitation and then escorting her out.

Capt. Wooten had no way of proving he was acting as an authorized proxy – because he wouldn’t even tell her his name. If she remains on or re-enters the property and is caught by an LEO while there, *after it has been proven that she was asked to leave by someone else*, is she guilty of criminal Trespass.

People can’t come into your home uninvited because they have to open a door and don’t have a reasonable excuse for doing so. But coming to a Public Event or wandering through someone’s yard is not criminal Trespass.

There is absolutely NO law in GA that allows you to dictate how someone acts on your property (unless it is unlawful – but see next sentence). You can ask them to leave or stop unlawful activity, neither of which were being done.

Rob, I think this got muddled a bit by use of the word “evicted”. We’re not talking about housing/rentals etc. so let’s keep that separate. I don’t know the law there but agree that it’s a bit more complicated.

In response to Saltycracker’s question, a private property owner can toss out anyone for almost any reason. If I own a retail store and want you gone because I don’t like how you comb your hair, I can have the cops toss you out. I don’t need to give a reason or prove anything. Come back after having been properly notified that you are banned, and the cops can arrest for trespassing. The key here is one must be formally notified that they are banned and must leave. HOWEVER, if I’m illegally discriminating due to race or some other protected class and it can be proven by some evidence or obvious patterns over time to a judge/jury, then I can get in trouble. Businesses won’t act irrationally because they need customers, so they limit their “banning” to known shoplifters and troublemakers, but they don’t have to prove anything.

Capt. Wooten could have EASILY proven he was acting on the wishes of the owner by first clearly announcing he’s a deputy sheriff, showing his badge and ID, and dragging Mr. Burt over there to say verbally he wants her to stop or she’s gone. Then if she refuses, the deputy can go hands-on and make the arrest. That’s how it’s done. They just didn’t want to disturb the speaker and hoped she’d go along quietly. How’d that work? Problem was, Mr. Burt just wanted to “call it in” and have the help take care of the problem, rather than walking over there. “Tony only done what he was asked to do by the property owner and that was me.”

It’s not an issue of asking someone to behave this way or that way while on your property. You can ask them to do anything. They either are welcome or not, and if not then the cops can arrest and charge with trespassing. The KEY is that any “proxy” must properly identify (see the GA code) him/herself as acting on the owner’s behalf so the trespasser can see the request is legit and then decide to leave or stay and risk arrest. That’s why the owner (or retail store manager in my example) should have walked over there. Make sense?

This story has no end to it…I received the Political Vine in my e-mail this morning (Bill Simon), that gives an entirely different twist to this entire event leaving the reader of that article to believe corrupt politicans were at work and an innocent woman with no evil intentions was brutalized. I wasn’t there, so I will never know the truth. But the old adage “where there is smoke there is fire” comes to mind.

Reading all accounts, it appears that Nydia Tisdale, who is well known in Forsyth County as a frequent and probably irritating videographer of political and official government events, went to this event, set up in the front row and was taping from the start. No one asked her to stop and no one had a problem with her until Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens said something offensive and realized that not only had he said something stupid but it was caught on video. “Uh oh, let’s blame the videographer.” It appears that the Dawson County officer did indeed ask her to stop but it also appears that she was never asked to stop by the actual property owner or asked to leave by the property owner. I’m sure after all the legal challenges Ms. Tisdale has mounted to establish her right to tape public events, she felt the officer’s request that she stop or leave was inappropriate. She probably also thought that no one would be stupid enough to drag her out right in front of the Attorney General and the Governor. If the tape was rolling, the public should soon learn what the officer actually said and whether or not he asked her to stop or leave at the behest of Mr. Burt. The fact that the Dawson County Sheriff’s office seized her recorder suggests they too mhave something they may want to hide.

In any case, I assume Mr.Burt hosted this event at his pumpkin patch to curry favor with the Republican party and because he supports the party’s platform. With friends like him… What he accomplished by this stupid, brutish behavior carried out in his name by a Dawson County Deputy Sheriff was to bring discredit on the Governor, the Republican Party and every other public official and candidate, with the exception of AG Sam Olens, who thankfully stood by and said nothing. And those who suggest that this had nothing to do with the governor are missing the larger point. He is the most powerful man in the state and he and a host of others stood silently by and watched as a young woman was dragged out of a public event simply because she videotaped some down ballot buffoon talking like a down ballot buffoon. If the governor were truly the real deal, he should have manned up and declared the need for some emergency common sense. Instead he and his smarmy spokesman treated it like a snow day – not my job – doesn’t involve me – someone else’s responsibility.

Not debating if Burt made an embarrassing decision but his statement said the sheriff acted at his request- certainly if you want someone to leave your property you are not required to confront the person with the law available, the prudent thing to do was to let them handle it. Nothing should have happened at a public invited event if the person leaves once asked by the property owner or his agent. If not, it can get ugly. And no guest needs to jump in there if they disagreed, just leave.

‘certainly if you want someone to leave your property you are not required to confront the person with the law available’

Yes. Yes, you are. You, or a proxy designated by you (not an LEO) has to ask the person to leave. Even if what you say is true, the officer would have to identify himself by voice prior to enforcing any supposed infraction.

‘Nothing should have happened at a public invited event if the person leaves once asked by the property owner or his agent. If not, it can get ugly’

Which would be great…IF Mr. Burt had asked her to leave. He didn’t. Mr. Hudgens went over and got Mr. Burt to get Capt. Wooten to eject her from a public event because he was embarrassed that he told the truth about how partisan he is on camera.

I agree 100%. If the LEO is the designated proxy, he needs to make it 200% clear he is acting on the wishes of the owner. You avoid confusion (and lawsuits later) by having the owner literally utter the words, “please comply with my wishes (stop recording) or I will have to ask you to leave or risk arrest for trespassing.” Walking up behind, wearing a polo shirt (not in uniform), not forcefully identifying yourself, voice mixed in with 1 or 2 others, not good police procedure.

The Nydia Tisdale Affair could be a Political Game Changer.
If enough women see what the Republicans did or allowed to be done to Nydia Tisdale at the Deal-Purdue Rally at Burts Pumpkin Farm they would likely not vote Republican in November.
The Republicans singled her out to make her stop video recording their Rally because they knew that she would immediately post it in full on Youtube for everyone to see and they could not allow this to happen.
The Republicans allowed a Dawson Police Officer to openly abuse Ms. Tisdale while eveyone watched and they did NOTHING to stop it. She literally screamed for help and no one responded.
The Republicans allowed the Dawson Police Officer to charge Ms. Tisdale with felony obstruction and they did nothing to stop it. Well not quite, Attorney General Olens asked that she not be charged but the Dawson Officer, who was dressed as a private security guard, refused.
I will say it again.
If enough women voters in Georgia find out what the Republicans did to Nydia Tisdale they could lose the election.

And those women would be non property owners, least likely to vote, who love paparazzi’s and get their news from the National Inquirer. If someone followed Nunn and Carter around with a camera in their face to create a bad moment in their day, that person is a jerk.

That is not what Nydia Tisdale was doing. Spend a little time at her Youtube Channel to better inform yourself.

The Misdemeanor Trespass charge was secondary. The Cop INSISTED on the Felony Obstruction so the misdemeanor was just tacked on. Had the Cop not insisted this whole thing would be just an unpleasant memory for some folks.

Nydia Tisdale has been working very hard to create this incident – I predicted it to several people months ago. She’s extremely aggressive and in peoples faces. I threw her out of a fundraiser for good reason a few months back. It was private property, whether the event was public or not, she was asked to leave when she refused to turn her camera off. As usual, she caused a problem – flipped out. She then ran around trying to video like a lunatic – continuing to literally run back in the room filming after I told her to stop filming or leave. She left crying and falling apart. She needs mental help – journalist don’t leave an event crying because they were told they couldn’t film. It’s far less about the filming than it is her weird and bizarre behavior – and uncomfortable encroachment on someone’s personal space. She makes random guests (not public officials) very uncomfortable by getting all in their private conversations with a camera on them.

She’s followed me around after public events trying to stand behind me and others holding a camera in our faces while were having private conversations. When I ask what’s she’s doing she gets very defensive and starts talking about having the right to do so and that she’s in public. The women’s restroom is public but she shouldn’t be allowed to film there either.

Pattern of behavior? She will do it again…I was at the burts farm event, heard her tell Mrs. Burt that she was “there for the Governor”…..i myself thought that meant she was with the governor. She misled/misrepresented herself to at least one person.
She was found out, told to leave,….BECAUSE OF HER PATTERN OF BEHAVIOR.
I agree sethgreen, this was planned out, she didnt know when or where but she was wanting this to happen. PROBLEM….she panicked/let her emotion get the best of her, and….DRUMROLL PLEASE…………..slapped/kicked a THEN ON duty police officer (georgia law- an off duty LEO can place himself on duty 24-7 at any time). FELONY OFFENSE, 1-5 YEARS MINIMUM! Yes he did identify himself to her, which places himself on duty.
This person/journalist (journalist? i think not) is abusing a worthy law/system, she will get what she deserves. She actually thinks she is going to bring civil suits?? HAH! This is going to blow up in her face, granted it will drag out in court,but every day it drags out it is one more night of lost sleep dreading that felony conviction for herself

Wow, an obviously unbiased, though somehow omnipresent witness to all of the evil machinations of the nefarious Lydia Tisdale. Five years isn’t enough, maybe she should just be burned at the stake and save everyone the trouble and deter her from “abusing a worthy law/system” with her day in court. I propose you hold an emergency meeting of the coven or is it a klavern?

So if you know the stove is hot, told the stove is hot, and you touch it anyway, whose fault is it when you get burned? She was obviously not the only one videoing and it was wrong to single her out. She was obviously not recording a private conversation in this instance and if her motivation is as you say it was absolutely moronic to have singled her out.

Well, this is par for the course. Wooten cleared and they don’t even bother to talk to Tisdale. I guess her input was of no value. The good ole boys know what happened and what to do about. No need to talk to the uppity female.

I just watched the entire video. I don’t know Nydia, but from what I saw, she did nothing at all to warrant the overly aggressive treatment from the gestapo like deputy who refused to identify himself. He should be suspended w/o pay or better yet, fired.

If I were the GOP, I wouldn’t want my stale, pale male candidates to be filmed either (emphasis on stale). You have Hudgens repeating the same old crap about repealing Obamacare, Woods against common core, etc. Nothing new, nothing to be for, just more of the same lame BS from the same lame candidates.

When this video reaches mass circulation, it will be interesting to see how the GOP spins what we see as them physically forcing an innocent woman from an open meeting. Maybe they can trot out the whole line of geezer white male candidates as proof of their dedication to equality for all.

So the GOP votes anyone can carry guns to church, bars, and other public places but apparently private citizens, with cameras, are dangerous and must be censored, subdued and their cameras confiscated at public political events. Politicos need to get over censorship of their publicly made campaign remarks.

She got ejected because she was on PRIVATE property, not public. Churches, bars, and even Burt’s Farm can ban firearms and even people on their property, even today, since they are PRIVATE property. Those entities didn’t lose that right with the recent minor gun law changes. Just because PRIVATE property is open to the public doesn’t erase their private property rights.

If the event was held in a public park, in a government building, or other publicly owned facility like the airport or Cobb Galleria, Nydia would have been right in resisting an UNLAWFUL order from the LEO (although that is a dumb idea) and the LEO would have been exposed to significant legal and monetary liability for a civil rights violation.

Stick with that position Michael, let’s see how it works out for the GOP.

She filmed for 14 minutes without incident. She didn’t hinder any speaker’s ability to express their tired, old positions. Then all of a sudden she gets physically attacked by a guy wearing a uniform and forcibly removed right in front of everybody. I’ve seen homeless bums in Atlanta treated better. Good luck spinning this into a win for the GOP.

Somewhere before the 14 min you’d hope some attempt by the law was politely attempted. Maybe not. Once asked and refused, she’s trespassing.
Property rights and resisting should hold up in the legal world but if it went down as you say, it will require a quick agreement to forget it, the officer punished and the GOP with a big embarrassment.

My question is what did she do that brought up her being asked to leave? Every report I have read has said there were many others filming but only she was asked to leave? That’s what makes this squirrely to me. Seems Hugdgens was the impetus to her being asked to leave which makes this stink!

Per my other post, you’re right on all counts except to be tossed from private property, the LEO has to properly identify himself as acting on behalf of the owner. Walking up behind, out of uniform (Polo shirt doesn’t count), multiple chattering voices asking her to stop or leave…sorry, not good police procedure. Pull that on someone else and he could have gotten hurt. When someone is tossed from private property and banned (think retail stores), it’s an oddly formal affair but the reason is that any claims of misunderstanding after a subsequent arrest will carry little weight with the judge.

The smirk on Captain Wooten’s face as he informs her that she will be arrested for resisting while he maintains the dominant more ferarum position will not play well to women, legal or otherwise. His dismissal of the advice from the AG will only exacerbate this and give it wings throughout the campaign. This plays right into a portion of Nunn’s campaign strategy.

dominant more ferarum position ….. Really? You and Three Jack are reaching now. If he flipped her on her back and restrained her that way, you say he was putting her in the dominant missionary position. How do you think the PoPo restrain someone, especially someone who is resistive and has tried to hurt an officer?

That officer did everything right in that video. He did what he needed to do to control the situation and a person appearing to react violently. Compared to the “Don’t Taze Me Bro” incident at the John Kerry event, this officer’s handling of this was awesome and text book.

Here’s the link to the John Kerry /Don’t Taze Me Bro video. Its always a classic. The funny part is John Kerry continuing to drone on in the background while this is all going down. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkkLUP-gm4Q

WCW is correct, it’s as much about the optics as the actual act itself. If the GOP wants to continue on the path of alienating as many women as possible, then stick with the position that the officer was within his power to manhandle Ms. Tisdale over nothing.

And yet again I ask, why is the GOP so afraid to have their candidates filmed?

Just to be complete, my opinion is he ALMOST did everything right. He failed to identify himself properly as a LEO acting on behalf of the owner. If he did so and she resisted, etc, etc, his tactics were kosher. But again, that missing piece was pivotal. If I were her, I’d ask them to drop all charges and apologize in exchange for me agreeing not to sue the deputy, the Sheriff, and Dawson County for failure to train and supervise their LEOs. Maybe he’s been driving a desk too long and just got a little excited.

Well some people got the humor in my last statement, at least. I saw it quoted in the Twitterverse, for laughs BTW. Political parties are too busy controlling their message rather than making any clear message to the populace. Add the layer of cloak and dagger campaign espionage that every campaign now uses or spends way too much time obsessing over and you see a broken system. Campaigns want their message for a specific audience to only be seen and heard by that audience. Because tomorrow is another day, another audience, and another carefully tailored message. They don’t want individual blogging voters, or “trackers” to video their every move because
A) someone might post the entire in-context statements for all to see.
B) A soundbite will be taken out of context and analyzed absurdly in the media or
C) the greatest fear that “the other team” will re-edit the comments to make an attack ad (read:LIE) that, I think, the general public is pretty much “over” these days.
(Thank God for the mute button. Real Intelligent design.)

Doesn’t matter to the candidates and parties. “It’s just political” “That is politically motivated” “They only say that because it’s an election year” “They’re trying to sabotage my campaign (Boo Hoo)” ad nauseum. All of these quotes, are designed to dispel any relation to truth in such matters, just play the dirty tricks card and “end of story”. Oh it’s just a campaign tactic, therefore, it has no truth. Yet that is all both sides do. Lie. Deny. Spin. Rinse. Control. Repeat.
As a Voter, I’ve stopped listening to these silly games.

This is the beauty of what Nydia Tisdale does. She just video records what occurred in its entirety from beginning to end. Then she loads the video to her Youtube Channel without editing and without any commentary.

Property rights is not the most important issue here as some seem to think. The property rights issue is placed center stage just to divert people from the real issue.

The real issue is “why did the Republican operatives at the event target Ms Tisdale”?

She was NOT the only one in the room with recording equipment.

Sitting two rows behind Ms Tisdale was the reporter for FetchYourNews located in Gilmer, Pickens, and Fannin Counties. That reporter audio recorded everything and he captured the still photos that you see of Ms Tisdale being dragged away by the cop. He sat there and witnessed the whole thing and published a report about what he saw. Go to Fetchyounews.com to see his many excellent reports on the event.

There were other is the room with recording equipment. We live in the Internet Age and many folks probably were recording parts of the event on their SmartPhones as routinely occurs now.

The Republican operatives did NOT eject the Fetchyournews reporter. They did not tell the public to turn off their SmartPhones.

The key question is why did the Republicans deliberately target Ms Tisdale?

In an earlier post on AJC.com, long-time Georgia political pundit Jim Galloway gives his opinion about this.

Jim Galloway said that Ms Tisdale was specifically targeted because she had a reputation for video recording events and them just posting the whole thing unedited and without any comentary on Youtube for the whole wide world to see. Galloway said that certain Republicans knew what she was going to do and felt a need to stop her because letting unedited videos of their rally could be damaging publicity.

For more information go read Mr. Galloway’s post on AJC.com on ‘how a plan to keep a GOP Rally off the Internet went astray”.

The private property issue is just a diversion to distract people away from the real issue.

In a way Ms Tiisdale was providing a free service to the Republicans. She was getting their unedited message out for them to the whole wide world without it costing them a thing.

What could really be wrong with that?

Nydia Tisdale has an archive of over 600 unedited videos of open public meetings and other events of general interest. Most of her work is done in Forsyth County Georgia where she is “notorious”. Her Work is on display at the NydiaTisdale Channel on Youtube. Go and see what she does for yourself. Ms Tisdale is a great advocate for free speech and open public meetings in our time. She is totally politically nonpartisan.

The bigger problem here is did the GOP folks here treat someone in the same way we all would be expected to be treated as a guest or embarrass themselves. Property rights protect even the stupidest, most obnoxious host from being trespassed, even for no apparent reason, by the most well meaning. I may love the bill of rights but I can’t stand in your yard and chant it if you don’t want me to.

Public opinion of that owner will swing on if the person was first treated fairly when being asked to leave and how that failed before a physical ejection.

After reading some of the comments on the AJC I would suggest that whether or not they feel they are in the right and legal, someone on the Republican side should be involved in defusing this publicity gaffe at an event meant to gain favorable publicity. Even if it means serving up some crow. Mr. Burt likely hosted this to gain favorable publicity for his business and now that will backfire as well. He would do his business and the Party a favor if he would drop the charges.

While ejecting Ms. Tisdale was unnecessary, perhaps she should have positioned herself in a less conspicuous location than being on the front row where she was a distraction, and the view of others was possibly blocked.

I just saw the video of her arrest and it is very disturbing. I really can’t believe this actually happened and apparently happened with the GOP’s approval with the exception of the one woman who apologized in the video. There was nothing in that video that would indicate she was disturbing the meeting or deserving of that treatment. Why didn’t anyone else get involved or stand up for her? I am utterly disgusted . . .

Just saw this and was very disturbed. You can argue property rights vs first amendment rights until the cows come home. But the bottom line is that citizens need to be able to hold elected officials accountable for their words and actions. What are Georgia Republicans afraid of? Why would they not want their unedited campaign speeches out in the public to be judged on their merits? We are entering dangerous time here in the south when our elected officials are afraid of their own unvarnished, un-spun words.

Women here in Chatham county did not turn out for Jack Kingston like he planned, and a big reason is his votes against Lilly Ledbetter, and the Violence Against Women Act – 2013. He lost his primary. Instead of trying to hide from voters, maybe our elected officials should take positions that support what is important to their constituents, many of whom are women.

The only elected official at that rally concerned with the rights of his constituents was Sam Olins and after that debacle, hes the only one who will ever get my vote.

The point that is missed by this whole article is that just because Mr Burt wants filming to stop should NOT mean that the journalist has to stop filming. She was requested to cover the event, and it is explicitly part of the freedom of the press that she did not have to. So she should not have been arrested for doing what she is meant to do – being a journalist, covering a political event. It is a shame the policeman involved did not know the constitution.

By the way I am a (mainly) Democrat.. the constitution applies whether this event was a Republican, Democrat or Looney Party event.